


Too Good To Love (and die for) Me

by Gootbuttheichou



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Knight Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Sheith Flower Exchange 2018, Torture, Witch Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:17:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gootbuttheichou/pseuds/Gootbuttheichou
Summary: Shiro, a Knight of Altea, stumbles upon the cottage of the Galran witch Keith, and the two fall in love. When war breaks out between their countries, they take the risk of staying in hiding. Then they are caught.Written forRiefor the 2018 Sheith Flower Exchange.





	Too Good To Love (and die for) Me

**Author's Note:**

> Happy SFE, Rie! You requested:
> 
> 1\. Milkvetch - Your presence softens my pains  
> 2\. Thorns, Branch of - Severity  
> 3\. Enchanter’s Nightshade - Witchcraft; Sorcery  
> 4\. Hemlock - You will be my death  
> 5\. Winter Cherry - Deception  
> 6\. Primrose - Young love; Early youth; I can’t live without you  
> 7\. Angst, emotional character death, magic, knights, hurt/comfort, Galra!Keith, and Shiro's big ole arms cuddling Keith. 
> 
> I apologize for the tardiness and hope you enjoy! :)

Shiro notices a clearing ahead of him as he guides his stallion through the neglected footpath, wondering if he’ll find the dilapidated remains of a cottage his map says should be there, and how much time has passed since a Galra settler from days of old made this piece of land his home. His horse shakes his head with a whicker when they reach a stream, and Shiro kneels to wash the sweat off his face. Just across the small brook is a glade, and Shiro is surprised to find that space is inhabited by a cottage that is in very good repair, the dense trees of the forest providing an excellent spot for anyone wishing to stay out of sight. There’s a faint plume of smoke wafting out of the chimney, and the garden is teeming with herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Shiro looks down to notice he’s crouching next to a stalk with small white flowers protruding from a base of large green leaves. He brings a finger to one of the flowers, leaning in to see if it’s fragrant. His horse whinnies, and a twig snaps behind Shiro.

“State your business.” Shiro slowly turns his head to find a masked and hooded figure pointing a dagger at him.

“Threatening a Knight of Altea is treason,” Shiro says, but the man doesn’t seem to care.

“I’m not an Altean. I’m a Galra. And since you’re in my country, it’s not treason.” The mask and hood come off to reveal a young man with black hair, a purple mark that curves up on his right cheek, and different colored eyes- the left one yellow sclera with a black pupil, the right white with a bluish gray. “And you’re trespassing on my property.”

“A Galra witch, at that,” Shiro says, eying the young man. “I was sent to survey this forest for the upcoming peace treaty, I didn’t expect anyone to be living in such a secluded spot away from the rest of the world.”

“I live out here because it’s quiet enough for me to do my work, so I’m not bothered by your countrymen or mine. You need to leave, now.”

Shiro raises a dubious eyebrow. “Do you know how far away your closest neighbor is, Galra or Altean? It’s nearly nightfall, it would be suicide to travel alone in this forest at night, especially when my horse lost a shoe.”

The man spares a glance toward the animal. “Is he injured?”

“Not severely, but he needs to rest. I’ve tried looking at it, but there’s not much I can do until I return home.” Shiro watches as the man sheathes his dagger and pulls an apple out of a side pouch, offering it to his horse. The animal sniffs cautiously, then leans in to accept the treat, allowing the man to pet his head. The witch carefully inspects each hoof, sighs, and then turns to Shiro grudgingly.

“I may be able to help. Come.”

Shiro rises to his feet as the man grabs the reins to his horse. “My name is Takashi Shirogane. What’s yours?”

The man pauses on the other side of the stream, looking over his shoulder at Shiro. “Keith. Call me Keith.”

 

_\--------------------------------------------------------Months later----------------------------------------------------------_

 

Shiro’s lungs are aching as he flings the door open, bursting into the cottage to deliver the news. Keith is sitting at his table, his eyelids closed and his fingertips sitting on inscribed cards.

“I know, Shiro,” Keith murmurs. His familiar, a wolf with black and white coloring, curls up on the floor next to him, and Keith opens his eyes. “Our kingdoms are at war.”

“Not only that, but King Zarkon has ordered that any Alteans found here to be captured and brought to Daibazaal! Our kingdoms were supposed to broker a treaty, what happened?”

Keith is silent for a moment, lips pursed as he picks up a brush and dips it into an inkpot, painting a sigil onto one of the cards as he mulls over his words. “There were rumors that King Alfor had ulterior motives with the treaty, that once it was official his troops would flood our kingdom and try to take the throne.”

“What? That’s absurd, King Alfor just wants to form an alliance with Queen Trigel, King Gyrgan, Prince Blaytz and King Zarkon! What makes him thinks this nonsense all of a sudden?”

“Someone Zarkon favors must be whispering poisonous words into his ears,” Keith murmurs, scrutinizing an ominous cluster of thorns in one of the bushes in his garden, big enough to be spotted through the window from his seat at the table. How did he miss it?

“... Does this mean I have to leave?” Shiro whispers, sinking to the floor as the weight of the words hit him. “I’ve told my comrades I’ve been courting a Galra, I can’t go back now… but if I stay here, I’ll put you in danger.”

A bundle of primroses falls to the floor as Keith rises from his table, kneeling in front of Shiro and clasping their hands together. “And so? Shiro, I cannot let you go, knowing there’s a certain chance of death for you out there. We were meant to meet, to fall in love, to be together. If we were to be separated, a part of us would die. We cannot live without each other.”

“Then we’ll both leave the country!”

“And where would we go, Shiro? You already said you cannot go back, and it would be too treacherous to cross the mountains into any of the neighboring countries alone. Besides,” Keith says as he rises, “ I still have to finish my work here.”

“Keith… What if my comrades are sent to fight near here? Or Zarkon’s army? How am I supposed to keep them from finding us? What will we do if we are found?”

Keith turns around to look at Shiro. “Nobody knows where you go when you leave, right? This is a poor route for Alteans to take into my country, and mine into yours. And if they do come this way, I’m certain we’d hear an army coming through this forest; besides, I know some spells that will hide us if needed.” Keith waits as Shiro mulls over the option, holding his arms out and embracing the man when he sighs. “I know you are loyal to your country, but stay. You are too good a man to love, and die for, a Galra like me.” Shiro responds by kissing Keith hard, a hemlock flower falling to the floor when he hoists Keith up onto his table.

 

* * *

 

Shiro hums a ballad to himself as he plucks a mushroom from the cool forest soil, enjoying the texture of the dirt on his skin as he scoops it up and lets it sift through his fingers. Despite being on alert for signs of Galra or Altean troop activity, he’s enjoyed the past month of solitude living with Keith. He never thought he’d enjoy a simple and quiet life of peace in the forest, but he also never thought he’d fall in love. Domestic life with Keith makes him feel like a young squire stumbling headfirst into the new sensations of romantic thoughts, and he thanks the gods every day that he’s been blessed with a love like this. It makes him wonder when the war comes to an end if he should ask Keith’s hand in marriage and start a family.

The sound of hoofbeats, clinking metal, and footsteps bring him out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see the unmistakable violet armor and banners with patterns of red and yellow, led by a purple banner with blue and orange markings, weaving their way through the dense growth of trees.

_No._

The basket of mushrooms falls to the ground as Shiro rises to his feet, hoping no one sees or hears him as he sprints to the cottage. He and Keith believed that no army would attempt to cross the border through this mountain, especially with the volatile weather and waking of violent animals from their hibernation. How did they even find this old forgotten footpath?

Shiro bursts into the clearing, a sob of relief clawing out of his throat when he sees Keith tending to the garden. “Keith! We need to go, the army-”

“Well, what have we here?” Shiro and Keith’s gaze turns toward the opening of the glade, where the captain of the troops observes the scene from the top of his horse. Shiro’s eyes widened incredulously, recognizing the long white hair of Prince Lotor from the peace treaty talks with King Alfor he and other knights had sat in on.

He doesn’t notice Keith until the younger man has grabbed his dagger, holding his hands up to cast spells, and Lotor narrows his eyes. “You’re willing to harm your prince over an Altean knight, witch? Seize them both.”

“Keith, no! Let them take me! Spare him, ple-” Shiro gasps as a sheathed sword knocks him across the back of the head, and the last thing he sees before he loses consciousness in front of a winter cherry shrub is Lotor watching his generals club Keith to the ground.

 

* * *

 

When Shiro comes to, the dull throbbing in his skull makes focusing difficult, but he eventually manages to groggily move his head to the right, feeling his stomach drop when he sees that Keith is bound like he is. The witch’s eyes shine furiously, glaring at something in front of him as if he wishes to challenge them, even if he’s bruised, bloody, and his mouth covered by a cloth gag. He obviously put up a fight, but Shiro can only feel terrified for him.

“Good, you’re awake.” Keith’s eyes dart to Shiro, expression softening when he sees his lover, and Shiro returns the look with a broken smile before facing their captor. Lotor stands below them, surrounded by figures in beaked masks and purple cloaks, a throng of eagerly curious Galra citizens standing behind a barricade of soldiers. With a heavy heart, Shiro realizes they are in an infamous square known for public tortuous executions of high Galra criminals. Lotor smirks up at the two of them before turning to address the crowd.

“While it is unfortunate my father could not be here for this event, it is my honor to remind the citizens of this land what we are fighting this war for, and what we do to those who betray us by defending the enemy.” The crowd erupts into cheers as Keith struggles next to Shiro, but Shiro knows fighting back is futile. Lotor turns to face them again, gesturing to the priestess on his right. “High Priestess Haggar knows more magic than you could ever dream of learning, witch. She will carry out the execution.”

Shiro swallows thickly as the High Priestess raises her hands, her eyes glinting cruelly from underneath her hood. “I can sense the deep connection that runs between the two of you. What a shame it would be if I were to sever it. You, young man, have a significant amount of magic; but I’m afraid you won’t be needing it anymore.” The witch clenches one hand into a fist and pulls the other one back, her garments shifting with the amount of magic emanating from her. Shiro feels his blood run cold, but when he turns to look at Keith, he knows it is nothing in comparison to what his lover is feeling.

The ropes that bind Keith seem to have turned into thorns of searing hot metal, cutting into his flesh, poisoning his blood, crushing his bones. The cloth bound around his mouth does nothing to muffle his agonized screams, and Shiro watches in horror as his love starts to cough up blood. He’d heard that witches who had their magic taken from them suffered, but he didn’t know it would be this extreme.

“Stop this, I beg of you! Torture me instea-” Shiro’s head rings as a soldier smacks him across the face, and he shuts his eyes as if to block out the sound of Keith’s choked sobbing, the cheering of the crowd, the look of triumph on Lotor’s face. The High Priestess relaxes, and she opens her eyes with a sated sigh. “Powerful indeed, but not anymore. It’d be more enjoyable for you to suffer from the pain than to die now.”

Shiro feels his own bindings being cut, and he’s kicked down to the ground, looking up with a groan when a sword clatters down next to him to see Lotor smirking above him. “I believe we can drag this out a bit longer. Our countries are at war, Knight. Your king has commanded that you kill any Galra that crosses your path. Surely you don’t want to be sent back and tell your beloved Alfor that not only did you let this Galra live, you lied in his bed as well?” Lotor nudges the sword toward Shiro with the toe of his boot. “Finish your job, or we’ll be the one to put your lover out of his misery.”

Shiro looks at Keith, stricken to see tears covering his beautiful lover’s face. His eyes seem to plead with Shiro, but Shiro looks away, making up his own mind as he picks up the sword.

“Fuck you,” he swears before he thrusts the sword into his abdomen. Keith shrieks beside him, and while the crowd cheers once more, Lotor seems displeased.

“Disappointing. No matter, you two shall die quickly enough anyway. I have more important things that demand my attention now. You two, clean it up when they finally expire.” With that, Lotor turns to address the crowd a final time before departing, and one of the guards cuts Keith’s binding and gag, which have returned to rope and cloth after the High Priestess’s ritual. Shiro crawls toward Keith, cradling his head in his lap and stroking his hair.

“My love, I’m so sorry.”

Keith weakly outlines Shiro’s wound with his fingers, then smiles sadly. “Alas, she didn’t even leave me enough magic to do some healing.” He looks up at Shiro, clasping a hand that cups his cheek. “At least we will be together in the afterlife. Despite our ending, I feel blessed to have known love like yours, Takashi.”

Shiro smiles weakly, his tears dropping to mix with the blood on Keith’s face. “You are too good to have loved, and die for, an Altean like me.” He falls into a coughing fit, and Keith pulls him down to the ground, chuckling quietly to himself when he sees a medicinal herb cart selling bundles of milkvetch flowers. He turns to meet Shiro’s gaze, and they stare at each other until both hearts come to a stop.

**Author's Note:**

> long time no see, AO3. Maybe one day I'll return more frequently instead of once in a blue moon. 
> 
> MANY THANKS to the lovely people who helped motivate me when the inspiration ran away from me <3
> 
> You can find me on twitter and tumblr.


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